Life After NMU -- Alumni Blog
College may seem like what happens after high school, but it's also what happens at the beginning of a career. Northern alumni share their stories in a monthly series of blogs. Click here to view previous alumni bloggers.
Kim's Alumni Blog
Meet Madison, Wisc. resident, Kim Stobb ('07), our most recent (and very enthusiastic) alumni blogger.
Nov. 16, 2009
Applying
If you've been following my blog regularly, you know that I took one of my baby sisters on a campus visit to NMU roughly two weeks ago. I know, I know. I need to stop calling Casey and Ashley "my baby sisters" because they're 17 years old but it seems like just yesterday I was changing diapers and making them do whatever I said. (Funny how time changes things!)
So last week I wrote about the campus tour and the nostalgia of being back home on Northern's campus. What I didn't have room to write about were the meetings that Casey had after her tour. She met with Becka Zemba in the Admissions department and JoDee Larsh from Financial Aid. I knew Casey was overwhelmed on the trip but Becka and JoDee made her feel comfortable and answered the questions that Casey, mom and I had.
Becka talked to Casey about what her interests are and what she is thinking about majoring in--To which Casey responded, "I work a lot but I like playing softball and hanging out with friends" and "I don't know yet." Poor Becka had to work hard--but she gave Casey lots of resources to take home and look at. We even discussed the options NMU has for undeclared students, like the First Year Experience Program. I'll definitely be talking more about this awesome program in a later blog post!
After our Admissions meeting, Casey went to Financial Aid. (This is the portion of the campus tour I never had on my campus visit but after what I learned, I wish I would have!) Did you know you can call NMU's Financial Aid office with questions on your FAFSA? (That's the Free Application For Student Aid and you can learn more here. I didn't and I wish I would have. I think I might have saved a few thousand dollars if I would have asked about listing incomes for divorced parents. Lesson learned: The Financial Aid Office exists to help students fund their educations; ask them questions!
Because NMU rocks, Casey is automatically eligible for two scholarships since she's from Wisconsin, has at least a 3.0 high school GPA and had a good ACT score. It turns out Northern's tuition is more affordable than some in-state schools! Now that brought a smile to both Casey AND mom's faces.
We toured campus, talked about majors and financing college, ate at the Den (where Casey discovered her favorite salad dressing. "Dude, they have Poppyseed Dressing. I'm totally going here!" No lie. She actually said that!) But there was one more thing we had to do before leaving campus--stop at the bookstore! I grabbed a new Alumni hoodie and smiled as Casey made mom buy her both a NMU sweatshirt and pair of "Wildcat" sweatpants!
Since our tour, Casey has applied to NMU and we're waiting for her high school to send all the final documents. Fingers crossed she gets good news!
It's time to get back to work but I've got plenty of blog posts in the hopper. Talk to you soon.
-Kim
Nov. 3, 2009
Back on campus
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| See all of Kim's photos in the online gallery. |
One of the coolest things in the world is being a big sister� It�s also the source of my biggest headache but as with every thing in life, you take the good with the bad. I am the oldest and have been blessed with three half siblings. Casey and Ashley are twins; seniors at Laconia High School. Patrick lives with my dad and is a junior at Waupun High School. I love being able to be a part of their lives (I work only an hour away) and watch as they become little people and find their place in this world.
As Casey and Ashley started their college search, the informational packets filled the mailbox and they started talking about what they want to do when they grow up. It took me back to when I was in their same spot � eager to grow up, �get outta the house� and find a school where I could really be myself. And of course, that made me miss Northern.
So rewind to late August when Casey sent me a text message saying �I�m going to visit NMU on October 30.� To which I replied, �I�m taking off work and going with you!�
I haven�t been to campus since December 2007 �when I watched my pal, Ken Laverty, from the CAPS department graduate. I was so excited to get back that I took Casey and my mom on a driving tour of campus Thursday night after we arrived in Marquette! It was dark, you couldn�t really see much and Casey was overwhelmed with all the info I was throwing at her (a la �This is Jamrich hall. You�ll have a lot of your general ed classes here and on Sunday nights we�d watch the campus movie being played in the big lecture hall.�)
Friday morning we made our way to the Hedgcock building to meet our tour guide in the Admissions department. The group of potential students was so big that we had to divide in half. As we waited to start our tour, I kept snapping pictures of Casey. She was getting annoyed, and I�m sure it was probably embarrassing for her, but I�m the big sister and it�s my way or the highway. Right?
Our tour guide did a great job explaining all the perks of campus (Wildcat shuttle, 250+ student organizations, laptop for every student, suite-style dorm life, meal plan, dining dollars, Cat Cash, student activity fee sponsored events, Campus Cinema, PEIF passes, Starbucks on campus, library hours� the list goes on.) It was definitely hard to be quiet during the tour. I wanted to tell these kids, �PICK NORTHERN. It�s the best decision you�ll ever make!� But, because I�m trying to let Casey make a decision on where she goes without my excitement influencing her, I just sat back and took pictures while they all listened to the tour guide.
Campus is still beautiful. It was a rainy day but the colors were nice and the memories of my time on campus filled my mind. There have been a few changes � like shelters for the Wildcat shuttle being built � but the rest of campus remains the same. The lower level of the library was a brewin� with group meetings, laptops were set up by Fieras and friendly faces greeted our tour group as we wandered throughout campus.
There�s so much more to talk about � but there�s only so much room to write for each post. Watch for more �Back on campus� info later and check out a few pictures I took from our campus visit here.
-Kim
Oct. 29, 2009
Lifelong learning. Lifelong friends.
As I blog, you�ll probably read �One of the best parts of Northern�� over and over again. (What can I say? I enjoyed my time at NMU!) Today�s �One of the best parts of Northern� was inspired by the trip I made over the weekend to stand up in a friend�s wedding. In the past six months, I�ve seen four Northern alums tie the knot�two of them to each other!
On Friday I left work early to hit the road for Andrea Jerabek�s (BS, �06) wedding. The four-hour drive up north got me thinking about the friends we make in college and how they impact our lives � for more than our time on campus. I met Andrea when I was searching for my first place off campus and toured her apartment. It turns out we knew some of the same people and she was a year ahead of me in the Public Relations program. The two of us wound up in Dr. Ganzert�s Mass Comm Law course together and she introduced me to another gal in the class, Colleen O�Reilly (BS, �07). Between discussing class assignments and our involvement with the Public Relations Student Society of America, it turns out the three of us really liked each other�s company and decided to move our friendship off campus� game nights, movies and of course, those famous Thursday night trips to Applebee�s! (C�Mon, who doesn�t love half-off appetizers?!?)
As our friendship was developing, Andrea and I introduced Colleen to a guy (Brian Dawe, BSN, �07) we knew on campus. If you haven�t seen the story on how we did that, check out Northern�s alumni magazine, Horizons. And just a few weeks ago Andrea and I were able to stand next to Colleen as she married Brian!
The three of us had a lot of fun on campus and we�ve stayed in touch since graduation�taking turns driving to each other�s homes for �ladies weekends� and sharing stories and giving advice over the phone as life and work hand us difficult, stressful and sometimes crazy situations. It�s been a privilege to support these two beautiful and smart women as they start the next chapter of their lives � and our friendship started on Northern�s campus!
In May I flew to Colorado for an extended weekend with Chet Nichols (BS, �06) Katie Lodovisi-Nichols, Katey Newton (BS, �08), Amy Pascoe (BS, �07) and Jess (Olsen) McGurn (BS, �06) as we watched Michelle Cox (BS, �07) get married. Seven friends from one college organization (Go, ASNMU!) in the same city to celebrate a milestone in someone�s life. How cool is that?!?
The point I�m trying to make in this blog post is that Northern provides its students with a great education � but it�s not just about the learning (yes, mom, school IS important!) but equally important are the people you meet. There are great professors and support staff around campus and there are about 9,400 other students for you to interact with. One of my favorite parts of NMU was seeing familiar faces as I walked from the UC to the Academic Mall but also the opportunity to meet new people every day.
To the current students, get involved! Open your residence hall door, join an organization, take a class for �fun�. You never know who you�ll meet�it could end up being a friend that you�ll have forever. To the alumni, what fellow Wildcats do you stay in touch with? How often do you see each other? Where do you meet? And what old NMU pals should you reconnect with? Pick up the phone, hop online. Reconnect.
Time to get some work done as I�m off Thursday and Friday to head to Marquette! (Watch for a blog post later this week as I join one of my baby sisters on a campus tour� I can�t wait to get back on campus!)
More later �
Kim
Oct. 23, 2009
Two months ago I received a note in my NMU alumni e-mail account reminding me to renew my Alumni Association membership. I scribbled, �renew NMU� on my to-do list and my mind began to replay memories from my time in Marquette. Making new friends. Group meetings in Olson Library. Breakfast at Tommy�s. Presque Isle. Welcome weekend. Sunday night movies in Jamrich. The Dog House. My adorable apartment on Longyear. Graduation� And then I thought, �Man, I miss NMU. I need to find a way to get involved.�
Fast forward to last week when I received an e-mail from Northern�s Marketing department asking if I�d be interested in being the next alumni blogger. Interested? Are you kidding me? Interested is for people who can�t commit� I�m IN. Sign me up! And here I sit, writing my first post. I graduated cum laude in May 2007 with a Bachelor of Science degree in public relations and a minor in electronic journalism. I write almost every day for work and currently a big focus in the PR industry is utilizing social media (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) for clients�so this opportunity for me to help the alumni association goes together like Peanut Butter and Jelly. Mickey and Minnie. Adam and Eve. Salt and Pepper. Green and gold. (Go �cats! Go Pack!)
Now before I start rambling about what I do and how I use my degree (those are future posts!) I suppose I should tell you a little bit about myself. I grew up in Ladoga, Wis.�a tiny, unincorporated town outside of Fond du Lac. There are approximately 10 houses in Ladoga so I attended school in the village of Rosendale (Anyone who has ever driven the stretch from Madison to Green Bay knows Rosendale as the �speed trap of Wisconsin�) and graduated from high school in 2003. I spent four years running around Northern�s campus � from classes to ASNMU and PRSSA meetings, promoting the USOEC�s events, anchoring the news on Public Eye or helping with the First Year Experience program. After graduating from NMU I accepted a PR position at Hiebing, Madison�s largest integrated marketing agency.
There�s plenty to talk about�memories, tips and campus updates�but we�ll save those for upcoming entries. I�m excited to be able to share tales as the new �Life After NMU� blogger but I�m signing off for now.
More later �
Kim
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